Electrochemical Methods, Fundamentals and Applications Allen J. Bard and Larry R. Faulkner, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1980. xviii 718 pp. Figs. and tables. 17 X 23.5 cm. $29.95.
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This book is intended to serve as both a course text a t the senior-graduat,e level and as a reference hook for those who wish to evaluate electrochemical methods as research tools. It should find wide use for both Dur-
current flow and mass transfer a t a microelectrode is of central importance. The first four chapters, which provide background for the rest of the text, assume the usual undergraduate physical chemistry background. Following a concise survey of electrode processes, there are brief treatments of the thermodynamics of electrochemical cells, electrode kinetics, mass transfer processes, and the nature and significance of current-potential curves. Chapters 5-12 comprise the heart of this text, and they are concerned mainly with developing in detail the equations that describe mass transport controlled electrode reactions under the conditions of the standard experiments. Both perturbation methods and steady-state methods are treated, with the farmer receiving greater attention. Methods based on current steps, potential steps, potential sweeps, impedance measurements a t stationary electrodes and forced convection a t rotated disk electrodes and rotated ring-disk electrodes are emphasized, whereas polarographic techniques, the electricaldouhle layer and the influence andde-. tedion of adsorption are treated in less detail. The effects of coupled chemicalsteps on the
various techniques are discussed in a single chapter and a number of diverse methods including coulometry, amperametric titrations, and thin layer electrochemistry are grouped under the general heading of bulk eleetralysis. Chapters 13 and 14 present concise surveys of the essentials of analog electronic instrumentation and recent developments in surface analysis spectroscopy, speetrophotometry and semiconductor electrodes that constitute a vigorous segment of current electrochemical research. This is aclear, well organized and authoritative presentation of electrochemical methods which effectively ties the theory of each method to applications through examples drawn from current papers. I t is much closer in style, content, and scope to "Double Layer and Electrode Kinetics" by Delahay and "Transient Techniques in Electrochemistry" by MacDonald than to "Modern Electrochemistry" by Bockris and Reddy, with topics such as electrocatalysis and' electrosorptian receiving relatively little attention. In addition to being an excellent reference hook for research workers concerned with the study of electrode processes a t microelectrodes, this hook deserves serious consideration as a text for senior-graduate level courses in electrochemical methods. Among the features which contribute to its effectiveness as a course text are the introductory chapters, the supplementary material on mathematical methods and the problem sets in each chapter. One should recognize that this hook presents a vast quantity of material and that many students will lack part of the necessary background. T o use this book effectively in the usual one-semester course, it will be necessary to select the material to he covered with care. D. A. Aikens
Engines, Energy and Entropy: A Thermodynamics Primer John B Fenn, W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, CA, 1982, vii 293 pp. Figs and tables. 16.5 X 23.5 cm. HB $17.95, PB $9.95.
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Teachers twine t o teach the meanine. not
something for almost everyone, from summarizing cartoons and memorable two-liners to illuminating historical asides, perceptive philasaphical insights, balanced remarks regarding moral and ecological issues in power production, and interesting engineering applications of the First and Second Laws of thermodynamics. The book is an enviable blend of literary, technical, and pedagogical bon mots-a noteworthy union of C. P. Snow's two cultures. I t should help, in Adlai Stevenson's phrase, "to humanize scientists and to simonize humanists"-if, indeed, i t does not shellac them. One of many attractive features of the book is. its enlightening, intuition-expanding problems. They are cleverly designed: usually arithmetically simple but often conceptually sophisticated, a t about the level of a conventional junior-level physical chemistry course and, thus, well beyond the reach of most ratio-deaf nonscientists. Some of the problems and several necessarily extended, all-steps-included derivations aside, "Engines, Energy, and Entropy" is a generally gentle, clear, often whimsical, always astute account of the central concepts of general thermadpamics (temperature, heat and work interactions, energy, heat en-
Rensselaer Polytechnic institute Tray, NY 12181
(Continued on page A26)
Reviewed in this Issue 7 Allen J. Bardand Larry R. Faulkner, Electrochemical Methods, Fundamentals and Applications John B. Fenn, Engines, Energy and Entropy: A Thermodynamics Primer Maraaret-Ann Armour. Lois M. Browne, and Gordon L. We~r,Hazardous Chemicals, ~Gormationand ~isposalGuide Titles of Interest
Volume 60
Reviewer D. A. Aikens
A25
Henry A. Bent Malcolm M. Renfrew
A25 A26
Number 1
January 1983
A25
BOOH REVIEUJI .
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gines, Clapeyon's equation, and entropy) by, verily, a modern Leonardo-an author/ teacher / researcher I chemist I industrialist1 mechanical engineer (at Princeton) and, currently, chemical engineer (at Yale). The reader soon senses that it is prohaMy an exhilarating intellectual experience to hear the author, John Fenn, hold forth in the classroom-even on a suhject so commonplace, and yet so formal, as classical thermodynamics. Classical thermodynamics, to paraphrase Robert Frost, takes the pulse of the physical world for its text. ProhaMv few subjects consider a simpler suhject matter: heatflow and friction, the dramatis personae of heat engines and heat pumps. Yet prohahly few scientific subjects raise, or lower, readers' hlaod pressures more. For few subjects suhjugate their suhject matter to such drastic linguistic transformations. For example: Cars, we all know, can he stopped hy braking. They cannot, of course, he started by debraking. Cars are not automatically mobiles. Any process whose net effect is the raising of a weight(or the acceleration of a car) and the cooling of a body (e.g., a brake drum) is impossible. Entropy always increases. ASt,,, > 0. Classical thermodynamics, one eventually sees, is merely a language for saying ordinary things in extraordinary ways. The ordinary experience that, fur example, friction always heats, never cools, hecomes in thermadynamics T = (aE/aS)v > 0. John Fenn deftly reverses such transformations. He says the extraordinary things of thermodynamics in ordinary ways. As Peter Debye has said, we do not really understand something until we can explain i t to the man on the street (or, perhaps, to a liberal arts student a t Yale)-that is to say, until we can say it in words. That is what John Fenn does for thermodynamics. He puts the crshhed mathematical details created largely hy Clausius and Kelvin, fine-tuned by Gibhs, misunderstood (initially) by Tait, and presented hy subsequent authors without Clausius's physical insights into the equivalence of transformations (of, e.g., friction and heat flaw, as demonstrated by, e.g., a Carnot cycle), into plain English. In "Engines, Energy, and Entropy," John Fenn exhihits a eharmine master" of two ease and grace. Chapter-ending problemssets (with answers) are headed, for example: Workout on Work; Scale Practice; Statesmanship Test; Warming-Up Exercises; Cycle Drill; Law Practice; Engine Problems. Ordinarily, authors claim more for their honks and thermodvnamicists claim more for an ordinary authority on thermodynamics. His appraisal of his hook will he useful, I be^ lieve, to many readers of THIS JOURNAL. "This hook [can he] used.. . in introductor" courses in chemistrv and uhvsics luer-
In a one~termcourse in thermodynamics for engineering students, especially freshmen or A26
Journal of Chemical Educatior
saphomares . . . . This book is not a cunventianal thermodynamics text. . Its aim is to lead the reader to a comfortable understanding of the basic principles and methods of thermodynamics. Unabashedly elementary, i t strives for simplicity with honesty." Henry A. Bent North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27650
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Hazardous Chemicals, Information a n d Disposal Guide Margarei-Ann Armour, Lois M Browne, and Gordon L. Weir, Department of Chemistry University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. Canada T6G 2G2. 1982. xi 239 pp. 16.5 X 22.5 cm. PB $8.00
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This hook is a ready source of hazard information on more than two hundred chemicals quite often used in academic lahorata-
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the subsequent treatment of individual chemicals (or groups) we find information an physical properties, chemical properties, hazardous reactions, physiological properties and health hazards, spillage disposal, waste disposal, and leads to standard references for more complete reports. The latter sources mostly'are current, hut the second edition of "Hazards in the Chemical Lahoratory" (1977) is cited rather than the third edition of this Royal Society of Chemistry hook with L. Bretherick as editor. The second edition (1979) of Bretheriek's authoritative "Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards" is used. The hook provides a three-page listing of incompatible chemicals far guidance in the stockroom. Because of continuing changes in acceptable practices, readers in this country must check the suggestions an waste disposal against current laws, local and federal. The format lends itself to easy reading despite the small size of type. Proofreading has been done carefully. The book covers fewer substances than the highly regarded "Handling Chemicals Safely 1980" compiled by Dutch societies,which was reviewed in THls JOURNAL,58, A-227 (1981). But the substantially lower price will recommend the Alherta hook to many readers, who will be grateful to the authors for such a convenient compilation of useful data. Malcolm M. Renfrew University of Idaho MOSCOW, ID 83843
TITLES OF INTEREST Modern Molecular Photochemistry N. J. Turro, Benjamin/Cummings Publishers, Menlo Park, CA, 1978. ii 628 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $16.95 (PB).
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The text is written to familiarize students and researchers with the important concepts and methodology involved in studying organic photoreactiuns. Following the development of each general principle, a number of representative examples are given to help readers understand the principle. Students with two years of college chemistry and a year of college physics should be readily able to
handle the material. All important concepts are presented in terms of a geomet~rcrepresentation. This aouroaeh is cauoled with the oretical organic photochemistry. The method of presentation of material in chapters 1-9 will he useful to students interested in a qualitative, pictorial interpretation of spectroscopic processes involving the absorption and emission af light. Thus, a large portion of the text can be used in introductory courses in physical chemistry far nonmajors and in courses in biochemistry when a qualitative appreciation of the physical basis of light absorption and emission is desired. The numerous examples of photoreactions and their interpretation given in chapters 10-13 is appropriate material for discussion in courses in advanced organic chemistry or physical organic chemistry. A variety of examples of the utilization of organic photochemistry as a synthetic tool are presented in chapters 10-13. Chapter 14 is a thorough introduction and examination of chemiluminescent organic reactions. Numerous references to the urimarv literature and t o review articles are provided throughout the text.
Aspects
of
Ancient Indian Technology
H C. Bhardwaj, Motilal Banarsidass Indological Publishers, Delhi, India, 1979. xi 212 pp. Figs, and tables. 16 X 25 cm.
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A Bibliography of Ab lnitio Molecular W a v e Functions. Supplement for
1978-80 W. G. Richards. P. R. S c o d V. Sackwild, and S. A. Robins (Editors), Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 1981. vii 463 pp. 15.5 X 23 cm. $78.00.
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An Introduction t o Composite Materials Derek Hull, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1981. vii f 245 pp. Figs. and tables. 13 X 21.5 cm. $45.00 HB, $16.05 PB. This book takes a rather narrower view of the suhject of composite materials since its main objective is to provide for students and researchers, scientists and engineers alike, a physical understanding of the properties of these substances as a basis for the impravement of the properties, manufacturing processes and design of products made from these materials. Calculator Programming for Chemistry a n d t h e Life S c i e n c e s Frank H Clarke, Academic Press, Inc.. New York 1981. v 226 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $24.50.
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It is the purpose of this book to illustrate with specific, detailed examples the new ca-
